Singapore’s Earth Hour to encourage lifestyle changes

SINGAPORE: The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will partner Singapore companies for this year’s Earth Hour to encourage Singaporeans to make four lifestyle changes in support of the environment.

The lifestyle changes are to reduce the use of plastic bags, turn up their air—conditioning by one degree, switch to energy—efficient LED lights, and take short showers.

Corporate partners IKEA, Philips Lighting and Marina Bay Sands have issued challenges to the Singapore public through the Earth Hour "I Will If You Will" platform for three key actions.

Home furnishing retailer IKEA has pledged to have a free reusable Blue Bag Day if 20,000 people in Singapore pledge to use reusable bags instead of plastic bags.

Philips Lighting will provide LED and other sustainable lighting solutions to 1,000 lower—income families if 100,000 Singaporean families convert to LED lighting solutions.

Integrated resort Marina Bay Sands will be engaging its staff and partners in several challenges.

Among them is a challenge to its top 20 vendors to raise their air—conditioning temperatures by one degree.

If this is met, Marina Bay Sands will fulfil the promise to raise its air—conditioning by one degree in its back—of—house and various public areas for one day every month of the year, beginning from Earth Hour 2013.

The public can take up these challenges from today via the Earth Hour microsite at earthhour.wwf.sg.

Earth Hour 2013 takes place at 8.30pm on Saturday, 23 March 2013.

—CNA/fl